Tag: Super Bowl

A 19-year-old sports memorabilia collector and avid Patriots fan provided FBI with the tip that led investigators to the person who stole Tom Brady’s Super Bowl jerseys.

Dylan Wagner said he sold an unrelated jersey on eBay to Martin Mauricio Ortega, who showed off his impressive collection, CBS Boston reports.

“He sent me 30 photos of his collection. Front and center was Tom Brady’s Super Bowl 49 Jersey. I asked him outright, ‘How did you get that?’ and he says ‘I’ll tell you later,’” Wagner explained.

Dylan shared the photos with a friend, who happened to be an ATF special agent in Boston.

Special Agent Christopher Arone later heard about Brady’s missing game jersey after this year’s Super Bowl.

“He sent me a link to an ESPN article. It stated it is not the first time a jersey was stolen from Brady and it happened after the Seahawks Super Bowl,” Wagner recalled. “I couldn’t believe this guy would have the audacity to go in and steal something that someone worked so hard for.”

Ortega was spotted leaving the Patriots’ locker room with something tucked under his arm.

The FBI and police in Mexico were able to recover both Super Bowl jerseys and return them to the Patriots.

“I would love to meet Brady one day, hopefully. It would be a dream come true. I’m just really glad he gets his jerseys back,” Wagner said.

Security will continued to examine the perimeter of Levi’s Stadium to assess any terrorism risks.

Jeffrey Miller, NFL senior vice president of security, expressed satisfaction with the joint effort between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to address any issues that arise.

“It gives the NFL a great deal of confidence in the safety of our premiere event, our teams and our fans,” Miller said at a news conference Wednesday. “I can speak for Commissioner (Roger) Goodell in saying that we are deeply appreciative of the leadership, resources and attention to detail put forth by our public safety partners.”

Officials said the lessons from recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino have been helpful.

“Every year is different. The world situation, the threat picture is different every February,” said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. “We are, with the NFL, with our federal partners, and state and local law enforcement, focused on layered security, seen and unseen. We learned from events of the past but we have to protect against events of the future. So, we try to anticipate things that can happen from multiple different directions. But we’re always informed by recent events and what we see in the world situation.”

Federal investigators are trying to determine whether recent attacks on the fiber optic systems in California are tied to a “more complex plot” against the Super Bowl in the San Francisco area.

Internal memos between the FBI and Homeland Security show that intelligence analysts are worried about a series of unsolved incidents in which fiber optic cables were deliberately severed in the Bay Area, NBC reports.

The memo detailed risks that include the fiber optic system, drones and attacks in crowded areas outside of Levi’s Stadium.

Still, the memo read, “The FBI and DHS have no information to indicate any specific, credible threats to or associated with Super Bowl 50 or related events.”

The memo also warned that attacks by an individual – as opposed to a larger terrorist group – “are of particular concern.”

Between July 2014 and June 2014, at least 10 fiber optic cables were deliberately severed in areas relatively close to the stadium.

The FBI is taking a softer approach to cracking down on sex trafficking during the Super Bowl.

The Associated Press reports that agents will offer to provide women an opportunity to get out of prostitution and turn in their traffickers.

The softer approach, which focuses on the victim, will take place during the lead-up to the Super Bowl in San Francisco.

“The goal is to reach anyone who is being trafficked,” FBI Supervisory Special Agent Doug Hunt, who manages the San Francisco office’s anti-trafficking efforts, which will also include sting operations the agency has used before at previous Super Bowls.

The man accused of helping attack a Muhammad drawing contest in Texas also planned to attack the Super Bowl, investigators said.

Abdul Malik Abdul Kareem, 43, who was arrested last week on charge connected to the Garland attack, is being held in jail without bond, Cleveland.com reports. He is accused of supplying weapons to the attackers,

During a federal court hearing, FBI Special Agent Dina McCarthy said Kareem wanted to attack the Super Bowl in Phoenix in February.

“This is an individual who is apt to incite violence,” prosecutor Kristen Brook said. “This defendant, based on all these facts, is dangerous, he is off-the-charts dangerous.”